California's governor is ramping up his battle with Trump by inviting 'the whole world' to a climate summit

Gov. Jerry Brown of California discussed climate change at a news conference in Sacramento, California in June 2017.
Rich Pedroncelli/AP
On July 6, California Gov. Jerry Brown will announce that San Francisco will hold its own global climate action summit in September 2018 — with or without President Trump.

According to The New York Times, Brown plans to issue a global invitation via a video address at a festival in Hamburg, Germany. A preview of the video was obtained by the Times.

"Look, it's up to you and it's up to me and tens of millions of other people to get it together to roll back the forces of carbonization and join together to combat the existential threat of climate change," Brown will say in the address.

He will also invite "the whole world" to attend the summit, including "entrepreneurs, musicians, mathematicians, and professors."

The festival where his video will be shown was organized by the nonprofit Global Citizen. It will feature big-name music acts like Coldplay and Shakira, as well as leaders like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Argentina's President Mauricio Macri. Thousands are expected to attend the event, which is meant to pressure governments to address poverty and inequality.

Brown's summit announcement will come about a month after Trump vowed to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on climate change. The accord, which includes nearly 200 countries, aims to curb greenhouse-gas emissions and support clean energy projects.

In response to the president's decision, over 100 mayors, governors, scientists, university presidents, and local leaders have vowed to uphold the US' Paris Agreement goals. The California summit would be part of a larger effort to support the United Nations' climate change negotiations in the US.

"Yes, I know President Trump is trying to get out of the Paris agreement, but he doesn't speak for the rest of America," Brown will say in the video. "We in California and in states all across America believe it's time to act."